Smith remains on the lam

Law enforcement officials said they believe Mobile outdoorsman Edmond H. "Eddie" Smith IV Smith removed or disabled his electronic monitoring device about five days after his May 22 release from jail.

He has now been at large almost eight days since Mobile County Circuit Judge Charles Graddick swore out a warrant for his arrest. The device has not been found.

Mobile County sheriff's deputies have gone to the Fowl River home Smith lives in at least twice. Department spokesman Chad Tucker declined to provide specifics, however, about what he called an active search for the 41-year-old fugitive.

"We are looking at all possible scenarios at this point," Tucker said late Friday.

"Mr. Smith, is going to have face the judge and explain his actions. It is in his best interest to return to the Metro Jail," he said.

In late April, Graddick sentenced Smith to three months in Mobile County Metro Jail. The judge determined that Smith had gone hunting for trophy deer in Ohio and Texas in December and January, when he was supposed to be under house arrest.

The bearded, heavyset Smith was the subject of a two-day series published by the Press-Register in late March. One of the stories, which reported the hunting trips made during a sentence of home confinement, was cited in court as the reason officials moved to revoke Smith's probation.

Graddick agreed to release Smith on a temporary basis so he could seek treatment for what has been described as a badly infected foot wound. Smith was to serve out the remaining two months once his foot healed.

Smith had sought the medical release, and Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran and jail officials concurred, in part, they said, so the county wouldn't have to pay what could have been a substantial bill for Smith's treatment.

As a term of his release, Smith was to wear an advanced electronic monitoring device that uses a global positioning system, or GPS. That device allows probation officials to see where a person is at all times, and to keep a record of his movements.

Upon his release, Smith was placed under the supervision of Mobile Community Corrections.

Community Corrections Director Steve Green said Thursday that Smith, who faces several criminal charges, will soon face another.

"He's got my equipment. We're going to charge him with a felony theft charge for taking our equipment," said Green.

"If you destroy it or run off with it, there is an additional charge on top of whatever else you've done."

The GPS device is actually three pieces of equipment, with a total value of about $2,000, Green said. One is an ankle bracelet that probationers wear 24 hours a day. It's covered in rubber, so bathing isn't a problem.

The ankle device communicates with a unit that probationers must keep close by and carry with them when they go somewhere, Green said. That unit gives off a signal that is captured by satellite and that then allows a person to be monitored.

The third piece of equipment is a charger for the base unit. Failure to charge the unit is a violation that can also be detected, Green said.

Data from the base unit is received by a company in Denver, said Green. When that company detects a problem -- be it a lost signal or an indication that the probationer has traveled beyond permitted boundaries -- it notifies its clients, in this case, Mobile County Community Corrections.

"GPS) is a tool, but it's not fool-proof," said Green. "If somebody wishes not to comply, there's nothing the technology can do to prevent that from coming about."

For the past two years, Smith has been living the Sonneborn home, a well-known Fowl River landmark. It was built in the early 1970s by Harry Sonneborn, the first president of the McDonald's restaurant empire.

Several people who know Smith told the Press-Register that he left Mobile on May 24 with his mother, saying he was headed for New Orleans.

Tucker said sheriff's department investigators have also been told that Smith's mother Linda may be with him, but they haven't been able to confirm it.

The Sonneborn home, which records show is owned by Evan Wolfe of Semmes, has been foreclosed on and is scheduled to be sold at auction next week.

There are several pending criminal cases against Smith in Mobile County Circuit Court. Probably the most serious is a charge related to his use of a gun during a car chase last summer, when Smith went after someone who had repossessed his boat.

On that charge, Smith was released on a $3,000 bond. An employee at Bandit Bonding, which posted Smith's bond, declined to comment about the matter.

In a lawsuit filed in early May, Lexington Insurance Co. accuses Smith of forging names of bank officials on checks totaling about $800,000. Those checks, and another, were part of a $1 million-plus insurance claim Smith filed, seeking money for alleged damages to the Sonneborn home from Hurricane Ivan.

Wolfe, who was sued along with Smith, filed an answer to the complaint this week. In his response, Wolfe accused Smith of forging his name on a host of documents, including the checks.

Wolfe also alleged that Lexington Insurance and Washington Mutual Bank, which holds the mortgage on the property, violated their own policies in communicating and dealing with Smith rather than Wolfe.

It is those companies, not Wolfe, who share responsibility for any losses causes by Smith's actions, stated Wolfe, who appears to be acting as his own attorney.